Pride of Your Soul
Chapter 1: Maverick
AN: Hey everyone, grey0716 here, and after having ended off Color of Your Soul, I present to you its sequel; Pride of Your Soul! This story will be based off of Pokemon Black and White 2, but unlike Color of Your Soul, which was based solely on Pokemon White, Pride will be based on a mix between Black 2 and White 2. A brand new start, and a brand new story, so reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are welcome.
And before I start this, a disclaimer, because I don't want legal issues to screw me over.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Pokémon or any of its existing/canon characters.
Alright with that out of the way, let's get started!
In mythology, Unova was created by uniting the warring peoples of the land by twin heroes. They used a single dragon sometime more than 2500 years ago. The brothers started to argue over their beliefs; the elder brother sought truth and the younger brother sought ideals. Their arguments split the single dragon into Reshiram, who sided with the older brother, and Zekrom, who sided with the younger brother. Since they were both born from the same dragon neither could defeat the other and the brothers declared that there was no right side. However, eventually their sons continued the fight and both the dragons started to battle again, destroying the Unova region with their fire and lightning powers before disappearing.
The mythos has revived itself. In the land of Unova, an organization known as Team Plasma advocated the liberation of Pokémon from humans. Their king, 'N', became the Hero of Truth, and revived the white dragon of truth, Reshiram, and conquered the region to enforce what he thought to be the truth. This time was known as the 'Plasma Raid'. Opposing him, was one trainer whom he deemed 'unique' from the rest of the humans. Hilbert, or better known as the 'Hero of Ideals', revived the black dragon of ideals, Zekrom, and challenged N to one final battle for the fate of Unova. After a long fought war, Hilbert prevailed over N, and the ideals that Pokémon and Humans should make a future together was instilled onto Unova. But the truth N had believed in, was in fact a lie made by his adoptive father, Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius, in an effort to claim Unova for himself. Furious that he had lied to N for his own personal gains, Hilbert fought the true evil of Team Plasma, and prevailed, saving Unova from perils unspoken of. N, wanting to find a new truth, departed Unova, on his own personal journey along with Reshiram. Hilbert, along with Zekrom, vanished soon after, last seen exploring East Unova, before completely disappearing one year later. No one has heard from the heroes again.
Two years later...
Aspertia City. A small city situated in the southwestern region of Unova. The streets were bustling with people getting to where they needed to be. In one of these streets, a salaryman was busy talking on his phone as he was walking down the street to get to his job, where someone bumped into him.
"Oh sorry there!" the man exclaimed.
"Sorry 'bout that," the other person replied.
As the man hurried off to his job, the other person snickered to himself as he rushed off into an alleyway. He hid behind a trash can, where he revealed a wallet in his hand, which he checked through the contents and smirked at the large amounts of cash in it.
"Oooooh! This is totally gonna buy us dinner!" the boy smirked.
The boy looked around, making sure no one would follow him and that his cloak was concealing his identity. He then headed deeper into the alleyway, avoiding several trash cans and cardboard boxes as he went by. At the end of the alleyway, a yellow bipedal canine-like Pokémon was leaning against the wall, sharpening the spikes on her paws.
"Hey! Luca!" the boy called out.
The Pokémon, named 'Luca' according to the boy, looked up.
"-Nate!-" Luca exclaimed. "-Did you get anything?-"
The boy, 'Nate', grinned as he showed Luca the content of the wallet he had 'procured'.
"-That's a lot of money...!-" Luca gasped.
"We're gonna have a good dinner tonight," Nate snickered.
The boy and the Pokémon decided to move out, exiting the alleyway and heading for some other location of the city. He noted that the city in question, despite it being classified as a 'city' was much more rural than compared to other big cities like Castelia and Nimbasa.
"-So why are we here again?-" Luca asked.
"He said that there would be some intel in this city regarding the crap we're looking for," Nate said as he counted the money.
"-How is there any intel on those in here of all places?-" Luca asked.
"I dunno," Nate muttered. "You know what they say, 'don't judge a book by its cover'. There might be someone who knows something about the crap we're looking for."
"-If you say so...-" Luca muttered.
Nate sighed as the duo walked passed people who were giving them rather skeptical looks. It couldn't be helped. It was common knowledge that humans and Pokémon couldn't speak with one another, despite being able to cooperate with each other. Their tongue were obviously too different for comprehension, comparable to a man trying to talk to his dog; it was simply impossible without any kind of outside help. Interestingly enough, while humans cannot understand and comprehend Pokémon, Pokémon can understand humans perfectly fine.
Yet despite this common knowledge, there have been at least two instances where a man could communicate with wild Pokémon. One of them was 'N', the enigmatic leader of Team Plasma two years ago, who claimed to be able to speak to Pokémon. With this ability, Team Plasma was able to advance their efforts towards liberation. The other one was rumored to be 'Hilbert Warren', who was opposing Team Plasma, and succeeded.
Yet Nate here is speaking to his lucario perfectly fine.
"Well he had 'outside help', or should I say, 'inside'?" Nate muttered. "And you try living with Pokémon from the age of 4. One way or another, you're gonna be forced to learn their tongue."
Luca made no comment towards that, as Nate took out a map of the city he procured from a nearby trash can earlier.
"So the shops are here..." Nate muttered. "And...There's a Trainer's school next to it."
"-A Trainer's school?-" Luca asked.
"A school huh..." Nate muttered. "...Where there's a school, there're students...and where there're students...there's gotta be a mess hall..."
"-Free food?-" Luca asked, predicting what Nate is contemplating about.
"You know it," Nate said. "Why waste money you worked so hard on, where you can get free food, and save said money for some other thing."
"-You sure you want to risk it?-" Luca asked. "-It's a trainer's school. It's bound to be filled with witnesses. Not to mention officials from the Pokémon League. And there's nothing stopping them from calling the police.-"
"I don't see the problem," Nate simply muttered. "Besides, what're the odds that we'll get caught in a trainer's school? The 'trainers' there are probably B-rate at best. The only thing we'd have to worry about are the teachers."
"-I guess...-" Luca said, still somewhat unsure.
"If this works, then you can eat even more food than this wallet can offer," Nate tempted Luca.
At the words 'more food', Luca's small appendages on the back of her head shot up excitedly, before settling down; something Nate noticed with great pleasure.
"-I-I guess it's a good...c-cost effective means of getting food...-" Luca muttered.
'Works like a charm every time,' Nate thought triumphantly with a devilish smirk on his face. "Alright, let's go."
"And as such, this is why type balances are essential to any trainer, regardless of whether they aim to be competitive or not."
Elsewhere in Aspertia stood the city's own Trainer's School. In one of the classrooms was a class going on. Teaching said class was a young man with black hair and one strand sticking up. He was wearing a white shirt tucked into his blue pants while a red tie hung around his collar.
"Now, there are several types, as you all know," the man went on with his lecture. "To be more specific, there are seventeen existing and classified types; each with their own strengths, resistances and weaknesses. To understand all of them allows one to be able to understand what they are facing, and to comply with the appropriate type, making combat easier."
As the class was taking notes, one girl was lazily looking out of the window that stood next to her desk. The girl in question had brown hair which was tied up into two buns and pig tails while wearing a pink visor. She was wearing a pink top tied with a bow around her neck like a halter under a white shirt with light blue sleeves with a pink pokéball printed on it. Along with the top was a frilly flared yellow shorts over opaque black tights with pink socks and white shoes. The girl wasn't paying much attention to the lesson as her blue eyes oozed with boredom as they stared outwards through the window.
Next to the girl was a boy with red eyes and dark blue spiky hair that goes upward, giving him the resemblance of a quilfish. He was wearing a red and white training suit and black gloves while wearing dark blue riding pants that match his hair and wore red shoes with black laces of Velcro. He noticed the girl next to him not paying attention and sighed. This wasn't the first time she ignored their professor's lesson.
"C'mon, Rosa, you need to pay attention to this," the boy muttered.
"It not like it matters to us, Hugh," the girl now named as Rosa retorted. "We already know all the types and all that stuff like the back of our hands."
"Then at least pretend you're paying attention," Hugh said. "Do you want Professor Cheren to yell at you for not paying attention again?"
"He can do whatever he wants," Rosa simply scoffed. "We're almost done with this class."
"Key word being 'almost'," Hugh sighed. "Seriously, I get that you don't care anymore since we passed Professor Cheren's last test, but c'mon, at least act like you care until his friend comes here."
"Fine, fine," Rosa sighed. "If playing coy will get you to stop being so worried about Professor Cheren calling us out, then so be it."
"Then you're going to have to pull off a rather convincing job then, Ms. Echoes."
Both Rosa and Hugh jumped and turned around to see a tall, slender young man with very pale skin, black eyes, and jet-black hair with a small tuft that stuck up from the top of his head. He was wearing a white dress-shirt, an orange necktie, blue dress pants, and brown shoes.
"P-Professor Cheren," Rosa stumbled with her words.
Professor Cheren loomed over them with a disappointed look on his face. The rest of the class was snickering behind him at the two; well mostly Rosa. The girl knew that, and kept her irritation to herself like always.
"I knew this would happen," Hugh sighed as his palm met his face.
"With all due respect, Professor," Rosa defended herself. "Hugh and I have already passed your final test and have been chosen to participate in Professor Juniper's pokédex campaign. I'm fairly sure that we do not need to pay attention to this lesson."
"Oh? Quite the moxie there, Ms. Echoes," Cheren scoffed. "While yes, you have beaten me in a gym battle and obtained the basic badge, it doesn't automatically justify your arrogance. No matter what, each lesson holds high value for your journey, so I highly advise that you at least pay attention to it."
"But the lesson is about type combinations, correct?" Rosa asked. "I already know enough to suffice my journey, so this lesson holds no purpose if it's only informing us of something we already know."
"...You're very adamant on justifying yourself, aren't you, Ms. Echoes," Cheren said.
"Of course," Rosa huffed, arrogance oozing out of her tone. "As the trainer to become the future champion, I can't allow obstacles to get in my way."
Hugh simply rolled his eyes as Cheren sighed.
"Confidence is one thing," Cheren said. "But arrogance will only bring you down in the end."
"I am not arrogant," Rosa huffed.
"Bullshit," Hugh said in between coughs, earning a glare from Rosa.
"Your tone clearly says otherwise," Cheren rolled his eyes.
"Oh please, you worry too much, Professor," Rosa scoffed.
In response, the pokéball clipped onto her belt suddenly opened, releasing a small, mammalian, quadruped fox-like creature with primarily brown fur. The fox held a similar, arrogant, yet somewhat more innocent air alongside her trainer.
"Eve and I can handle ourselves," Rosa assured Cheren.
"-That's right!-" Eve held her head high up.
"Ugh, and here's the arrogant eevee," one classmate groaned.
"Vibrava, deal with Eve," Hugh said as he released his partner.
From the pokéball Hugh held in his hand, a yellowish, dragonfly-like Pokémon with large, green bulging eyes appeared out of it.
"-Again?-" Vibrava sighed. "-Oh whatever. Hey, Eve! Let's go for a ride!-"
"-Yaaay!-" Eve squealed as she abandoned Rosa in favor of riding Vibrava.
"Wha–Hey!" Rosa yelled as Eve jumped onto Vibrava's back.
Cheren opened the window, where Vibrava flew out for his usual lap around the skies of the city.
"Traitor..." Rosa grumbled.
"You know this is the usual thing," Hugh sighed.
"Although I do have to admit," Cheren said as he watched Vibrava and Eve fly off. "Those two came a long way. And so have you two."
Rosa and Hugh looked up to Cheren.
"It only seemed like yesterday when I was first admitted to be a teacher," Cheren said. "And after a year of being your teacher, I'm proud to say that you two have grown sufficiently as trainers."
The two trainers looked somewhat surprised at their teacher's words of praise. Hugh looked somewhat embarrassed, while Rosa held her chest up high in pride.
"Although you two could still use some work," Cheren added, managing to lower their spirits. "Especially you Rosa."
Rosa puffed her cheeks in anger.
"Nothing a good old journey can't solve," Cheren said.
"Professor Cheren. Didn't you go on a journey two years ago?" one student asked.
"Yes, you are correct," Cheren said. "I obtained a pokédex, and my starter from Professor Juniper back at my hometown, Nuvema, alongside my childhood friends, Bianca and Hilbert."
"Hilbert...as in Hilbert Warren, right?" another student asked. "The famed 'Hero of Ideals', Hilbert Warren?"
"Yes, that Hilbert Warren," Cheren mused. "If I remember correctly, your dream of becoming the future champion derived from his fruits of labor and his fight against Team Plasma, right, Rosa?"
"Of course Professor!" Rosa boomed. "Hilbert Warren's brave heroics during the Plasma Raid was absolutely awe-inspiring!"
Cheren seemed quite amused by the girl's reaction. It always amused him how his childhood friend ended up becoming a renowned and praise-worthy war hero. Especially considering how he was somewhat of a reluctant hero with a rather 'spotty' backstory back then.
"Which is why once Professor Juniper's assistant comes, I'm going to pick Oshawott!" Rosa declared.
"Oh? And your reason?" Cheren asked, although he could pretty much put together why.
"Of course," Rosa said. "It's the cutest of the three. Not to mention Hilbert Warren chose Oshawott, and his samurott is considered to be his strongest member, next to Zekrom, of course."
Oh yes. Memories of Samurott and his borderline barbaric plights alongside Hilbert. The Water-type was Hilbert's best partner, and pulled many unbelievable feats alongside the rebel.
"And then we will travel Unova, become stronger, gather the best team, and then I, Rosa Echoes, shall become the next champion!" Rosa haughtily declared.
"Yeah, you're totally not arrogant," Hugh said sarcastically.
"Well that's some ambition though," Cheren chuckled. "But if you want to become champion, then you must know everything there is to know about Pokémon. That is the first step."
"I know that..." Rosa grumbled.
"And besides," Cheren said. "It's not like the assistant will come any sooner, so you might as well listen. There might be some information you don't know yet."
"I highly doubt that," Rosa said.
"Eelektross's ability is 'Levitate', making it immune to Ground-type attacks," Cheren suddenly said. "So how would you hit an eelektross with an 'Earthquake'?"
"It's impossible," Rosa answered. "Levitate shields it from all Ground-type attacks, thus making it impervious to Ground-type attacks. Therefore you cannot hit it with 'Earthquake'."
"And that's where you're wrong," Hugh said.
"What?! How?!" Rosa demanded.
"Hugh's right," Cheren said. "By using 'Gravity' or hitting it with 'Smack Down', you can forcibly drag it down to the ground, making it vulnerable to 'Earthquake'. Ideally, Pokémon with the ability 'Mold Breaker' can hit Eelektross with Earthquake, bypassing Levitate."
"Looks like you don't know everything," a student laughed, leading to everyone else laughing at Rosa's embarrassment.
"Now c'mon," Cheren said. "At least focus while you wait."
"Grrr..." Rosa growled as she sat down.
"Wow...this is a really great view!"
Looking towards the ongoing route neighboring Aspertia City from the tall outpost of the city was a woman with blonde hair, green eyes and had red glasses. She was wearing a low white V-neck top with a black top underneath, short green jogging bottoms and orange shoes with black soles and bows. She also had a green beret with a white bow nestled on top of her head and an orange coat. She was humming a whimsical tune as she polished a narrow case.
"This town's pretty chilly," the woman said. "Though the view from here is pretty beautiful."
She opened the case to reveal three pokéballs. The one on the right contained a green snake with large red eyes and green limbs, Snivy, the one in the middle contained an orange pig with yellow patterns and large snout, Tepig, and the one on the left contained a blue otter like creature with a shell on its torso, Oshawott.
"But today's the day!" she said. "You all are gonna meet your new trainers today. I hope you're all excited."
As she closed the case, she checked her Xtransceiver for the time.
"Uh oh. It's almost time to meet up with Cheren!" she exclaimed. "I need to get going!"
Not wanting to be late, she rushed to the stairs and descended down.
"Fueh?!" she blurted as she tripped on one of the steps and fell. "KYAAAAA!"
As she tumbled down, the case flew out of her hands, flying down the stairs. As the case collided with the pavement, the button that opened the case was smashed upon landing, opening the case and letting loose the three pokéballs. The three pokéballs fell across the floor, all of them releasing the Pokémon in them upon impact. Snivy landed on a bush, Oshawott landed near him, while Tepig landed on his rear.
"Wha...?" the woman asked as she got up, until she noticed the Pokémon. "Uh oh..."
The three starter Pokémon looked around, before running off into the city as a group.
"Ah! Wait!" the woman cried, before tripping again. "Oh no...Cheren's gonna kill me..."
As Rosa was being humiliated, Vibrava soared through the skies of Aspertia, with Eve enjoying the ride.
"-Faster! Higher!-" Eve squealed with joy.
"-Well at least you're enjoying the ride,-" Vibrava sighed.
As Vibrava soared around, he spotted something peculiar and stopped mid-flight.
"-Huh?-" Eve asked. "-What's wrong Vivi?-"
Vbrava narrowed his eyes at the sight of the school. Outside at the back of the school, he could see two figures at the back entrance, appearing to try and open it.
"-An intruder...?-" Vibrava asked.
"-Ooh, that lady's pretty!-" Eve squealed.
"Tch, locked," Nate muttered as he stopped budging with the door.
"-It's a school at broad daylight,-" Luca said. "-Of course it's gonna be locked.-"
"Figures..." Nate grumbled. "Great...we can't just waltz in from the front..."
Nate contemplated on how to get in, before brandishing a sharp knife. He looked at the lock and shoved the blade into the lock, before trying to break the lock. Emphasis on 'trying'.
"Damn it..." Nate grumbled. "C'mon, damn it, break already so I can get free food!"
Luca shook her head, before shoving him aside.
"Heh?" Nate asked.
Luca took out the knife, before shoving one of her paw spikes into it and fidgeting with it, until she managed to break the lock.
"-There you go,-" Luca said.
"I could've done that," Nate grumbled. "Whatever, let's go."
Luca nodded in response, as the two thieves snuck into the school in search of unguarded food. All while failing to notice the three small Pokémon witnessing the act, before deciding to join in on whatever it was that they were planning. The two also failed to notice that there was also a witness high in the skies, who decided to fly back to his master to inform him of the intruder.
The boy and his lucario looked around as they were about to turn around a corner, checking for any unsuspecting students, before proceeding forward, ducking a little to avoid being seen from the windows of the many classrooms down the hallway.
"Any ideas to where the mess hall would be?" Nate asked Luca.
"-How would I know? This is our first time being here,-" Luca muttered.
"Right..." Nate mumbled.
As the duo glanced around another corner, they scanned the corner for any potential rooms or witnesses. As their eyes looked around, Luca noticed a set of metallic doors with the sign 'CAFETERIA' on it.
"-Nate, look,-" Luca said, pointing to the sign.
"Hm?" Nate asked, looking towards where Luca was pointed. "Oh nice. Nice job, Luca."
The two made sure that no one was watching as they proceeded into said cafeteria. As they barged inside, they were greeted to a plethora of foods, produce, prepared foods of all sorts, meats, and even a few knives and forks.
"Jackpot," Nate grinned, taking out a bag from his cloak. "Alright, let's grab as much crap as we can."
Luca nodded, as she began to go around and gather as much food as possible, before putting it into the bag, with her trainer doing the same. While they were distracted with gathering the food, they failed to notice that three small tykes consisting of a snake, pig and otter, peered through the door, observing the two in their theft.
"-I-I think they're stealing food,-" Oshawott stuttered, while Snivy stared at them curiously.
Tepig just stared at the two thieves curiously, before approaching them.
"-T-Tepig, wait!-" Oshawott called out.
"Alright, that should be enough food," Nate said. "Let's get out of here."
As Nate closed the bag, he felt something tugging on his tights.
"Huh?" Nate asked. "What's wrong, Luca?"
"-What? I didn't do anything,-" Luca said.
Confused, Nate glanced down to the source of whoever it was that was tugging at his pants, only to find a small tepig being the culprit.
"-Hey, what'cha doing?-" the tepig asked him.
"-Hugh!-"
Vibrava quickly flew back to the classroom where his trainer is, before slamming into a window, getting everyone's attention.
"What the...?" Hugh muttered, opening the window and letting his vibrava back in. "What's the matte,r Vibrava?"
"-There's an intruder in the school!-" Vibrava quickly yelled.
Unfortunately for Vibrava, all Hugh registered was high-pitched cough-like noises.
"I can't understand you, you know this," Hugh sighed.
"What's wrong with Vibrava?" Rosa asked as Eve jumped off the bug and into her trainer's arms. "What's wrong, Eve?"
"-Rosa! Rosa! We saw a guy and a pretty lady sneak into the school!-" Eve barked.
"Wha...?" Rosa asked, only being able to hear the eevee's barking.
"NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!"
A loud scream echoed throughout the hallways, vibrating through the
"What was that?" Cheren asked. "...You all stay here."
With that, Cheren left the room, leaving the students to themselves and their Pokémon.
"What's going on...?"
"What was that scream?"
"Who made that, exactly?"
The room began to fill with whispers amongst the students, while Rosa and Hugh were curiously looking out through the door that Professor Cheren had left through.
"You think someone got hurt?" Rosa asked.
"I don't know..." Hugh said. "Although...we can do nothing but wait here, I guess..."
Rosa puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Truthfully, she wanted to investigate the source of the scream as well. If she could solve the problem, then she would be able to prove to her professor her worth. That she wasn't just 'arrogant', as they claimed her to be, but competent.
In her annoyance, she failed to notice that Eve was scratching at the door.
"Huh?" Rosa muttered, finally noticing Eve scratching the door. "What's wrong?"
"-That scream! It definitely must belong to that guy who entered from the back!-" Eve barked.
"-Are you sure?-" Vibrava asked.
"-Yuh huh! I can anticipate it!-" Eve barked.
"I think Eve wants to go to the source of that scream," Hugh pointed out.
"You think so?" Rosa asked, before glancing to Eve. "Is that true, Eve?"
Eve nodded furiously, as she continued her scratching at the door. Rosa looked at Hugh, who just sighed in response.
"We're gonna get so much shit from Professor Cheren, you know this, right?" Hugh asked.
"The future champion will not stop for that," Rosa smirked.
Sighing in resignation, Hugh opened the door, as the two trainers and their partners quickly fled the classroom without anyone noticing.
"Where the hell did this tepig come from?!" Nate yelled as he backed away from it.
The tepig looked at the duo curiously, as Snivy and Oshawott joined him.
"-Wha–?! A snivy and an oshawott too?!-" Luca gasped.
"Why the hell is the Unova starter set in here?!" Nate grumbled. "I swear I didn't encounter anyone from the League or the Labs!"
As the two were trying to figure out where these three small Pokémon came from, the doors swung wide open.
"WHO'S THERE!?"
The duo shot up to see a man with jet-black hair, dressed like a faculty member of the school, barging into the cafeteria.
"Crap..." Nate muttered.
"Wha–?!" he gasped. "You...Nate...? Nate Warren!?"
"...How the hell do you know my name...?" Nate leered at the man as he slowly reached for his knives.
"You don't recognize me...?" the man asked.
"Huh...? I should recognize...?" Nate asked as he squinted his eyes at the man, before spotting the tuft of hair that stuck up. "Wait...you're the four-eyes from Castelia!"
"I have a name you know," the man grumbled. "Cheren. Cheren Heilian."
"Your last name's Heilian?" Nate asked. "That's a weird-ass name."
"Regardless," Cheren said. "I'm surprised to find you in the humble city of Aspertia. Tell me, do you plan to steal food from the school?"
"You always did look like the smart one out of your group," Nate said. "Although this deduction was pretty obvious."
"Verily," Cheren muttered. "Didn't expect you to resort to petty thievery in a public school of all places. What happened if you had gotten by one of the students? They are trainers after all."
"Oh please," Nate smirked as he took out his knife and began to toss it into the air like a baton. "This is a school meant to teach low-rank saps to become trainers, yes? Then the students here are B-rate at best."
Cheren eyed the knife the boy was tossing around nonchalantly. While the gesture itself seemed casual, the boy's eyes oozed with malevolent intent; practically daring Cheren to make a move. The boy was showing him that he has great control over the knife. He was essentially taunting him. He could use it at any given moment and end his life if he wanted to.
It was a threat. A casual one, but nonetheless an effective threat.
"And what about the teachers then?" Cheren asked, keeping a calm expression. "How do you deem them?"
Nate eyed the teacher in front of him as he stopped tossing his knife.
"...Does this city have a gym?" Nate asked.
"You're in it," Cheren responded.
"Who's the gym leader?"
"Me."
Nate eyes widened in genuine shock, before breaking down into a malicious giggle.
"If you're the gym leader, then that makes you the top in this 'school'," Nate cackled. "Then I really don't have to worry about anyone else here."
"Oh? How arrogant," Cheren said as he reached for a pokéball.
"Please, you remember back at Plasma's castle," Nate smiled. "You remember how strong Luca and I were?"
At the mention of her name, Luca aimed her paw at the teacher, before charging it with a blue aura. Cheren leered at the bipedal canine as he took a step back.
"I wonder..." Nate mused. "After two years...are you strong enough to take me on? Eh, 'Cowlick'?"
The two boys leered at each other, daring the other to make a move. Suddenly the doors barged open one more, this time hitting Cheren from behind.
"Evildoer! Prepare yourself!" a rather arrogant girl yelled.
"What're you doing?" a rather annoyed boy asked.
Cheren fell down as two kids barged into the cafeteria, gaining everyone's attention.
"What the hell?" Nate asked.
"Rosa?! Hugh?!" Cheren yelled. "What're you doing here?!"
While Cheren gave the two a disapproving glare, Nate saw the distraction as an opportunity.
"Hey morons catch!" Nate yelled as he kicked Snivy and Oshawott at the two trainers.
"What the–?!" Hugh blurted as he caught Snivy, as Rosa caught Oshawott.
While everyone was distracted, Nate and Luca pushed past the two and made a dash for the door, sprinting down the halls.
"Hey wait!" Cheren yelled.
Rosa and Hugh set down the tykes they caught as they got out of the cafeteria with their own Pokémon.
"Oh no he's getting away!" Rosa exclaimed before giving chase.
"Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious!" Hugh growled in annoyance as he followed her.
As Cheren got back up, he noticed a sack, presumably filled with the food they were going to steal lying on the floor.
"What...?" Cheren asked. "Then what did they take...?"
Throwing the idea of stealth out of the window, Nate and Luca rushed down the halls in escape.
"GET BACK HERE!"
Nate and Luca glanced behind to see Rosa and Hugh chasing after them.
"Tch! Persistent little brats..." Nate grumbled.
"-They're probably the same age as you though,-" Luca muttered.
"Whatever," Nate said. "We got what we came for anyways."
As Nate looked forward, Luca glanced down to what was in Nate's hand, before her jaw dropped.
"What? What's wrong?" Nate asked, taking a look at what he was carrying.
What was supposed to be a sack of food, was actually a small fire pig, hanging by the tail that was in his hand.
"-So where're we going?-" Tepig asked them.
"WHAT THE FU–?!" Nate screamed. "Where did this thing come from?!"
"-You must've grabbed the tepig instead of the food!-" Luca yelled.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Nate yelled, before making a halt. "Oh hell no! I came here for food! Not some random ass fire pig!"
"-Nate wait they're still–!-" Luca yelled as Nate turned around to retrieve his free food.
But Luca's words couldn't reach her trainer, as Nate ran back, completely forgetting that he had people chasing after him in favor of forgotten food.
"GUAH!?"
"KYA?!"
Luca ran after her master, and as she made the turn, she made a full halt at the sight to behold.
"Well now," Hugh said as he had halted as well.
"Ugh...wha...? What happened...?" Nate grumbled.
As Nate regained consciousness from colliding into something, he was greeted to a rather...soft feeling.
"What the...what is this...?" Nate asked, as he grabbed it out of curiosity and squeezed it. "It feels so soft and warm...who the hell put a cushion on the floor...?"
"-N–Nate...-" Luca stammered.
Nate looked up to Luca, before looking to what he was caressing in his hand. He then shifted his gaze to Rosa, who was completely red, before putting two and two together.
"...I didn't mean to I swear," was all the boy said.
Nate slowly opened his eyes in pain.
"Ugh...what happened...?" Nate groaned. "Ow...my head hurts..."
As Nate regained consciousness, he found himself tied up with Luca back to back; unable to break through the rope.
"When the hell...?" Nate muttered. "Luca? You there?"
"-Yo,-" Luca muttered.
"What happened?" Nate asked. "When did I lose consciousness?"
"-Well after you groped that girl,-" Luca explained. "-She punched you while screaming 'PERVERT!', and then that teacher showed up and restrained the both of us.-"
"Why didn't you escape?"
"-You know I'd rather die than abandon you.-"
"Do I have my knives on me?"
"-The teacher confiscated them.-"
"Hmm...Do I still have my shoe knives?"
"-Do you see your shoes? And besides I don't think it'll be effective in breaking out without being detected.-"
"I guess...where are we anyways?"
"Having fun there?"
Both Nate and Luca looked up to see Cheren looming above them, with all of his students behind him. Nate noticed that among the group, the girl he had (accidently) groped was giving him a murderous glare. He also noticed the three small Pokémon from before; the snivy was with the boy with spiky blue hair (which reminded him of a qwilfish), the oshawott was with the girl, while the tepig was staring at him curiously. As Nate stared at Cheren, he nudged at Luca without the adult noticing. Luca, who got the message, began to cut at the rope with one of her paw spikes.
"So...why haven't you turned me over to the police yet?" Nate asked.
"Yeah!" Rosa yelled angrily from behind.
"Yes, doing so would be the logical thing to do under normal circumstances," Cheren said. "But then again, there aren't 'normal' circumstances."
"...Meaning?" Nate asked.
"Oh you wouldn't believe how much the others back at Juniper's lab wanted to meet you," Cheren said. "More specifically, how much they wanted the information you potentially have."
"Like?"
"You were presumably dead for eight years; now ten years. Who knows what you've been up to in that kind of time frame," Cheren explained. "You most likely have explored the entire region, even the parts that we haven't explored yet. New landmarks, new towns, and especially the new population and species of Pokémon introduced into Unova due to the climate change and due to the interference of Andrew Park."
"And what makes you think I know anything about some scientist?" Nate asked.
"Because you're the one who informed Hilbert about him," Cheren said. "You're the one who gave him the address to his lab. And according to him, you were also involved in the preliminary tests in introducing new species of Pokémon not originally native to Unova."
"Damn it Hilbert..." Nate cursed as he quickly checked up on Luca's progress.
"Face it. You know more about Unova than the Junipers do at the moment," Cheren said. "You're a walking gold mine of information to them. And as one of the former wielders of the pokédex, it's my duty to get that information for their sake."
"Oh is it now," Nate said. "Emphasis on 'former' by the way. You have no more necessary ties to them. Meaning you don't have to do this. You should be focusing more on your teaching career, in my opinion. Harboring a thief like this is going against ethics as it is."
"Perhaps," Cheren didn't seem fazed at all. "But then again, there are other reasons that doesn't involve the Junipers."
"Oh?" Nate actually looked curious.
"You suddenly reappear after your last appearance two years ago," Cheren said. "Why? And why come to here of all places?"
Nate leered at the raven-haired veteran. He was on to something.
"...Luca and I were just in town," Nate replied calmly. "And we required some food. Knowing our...ability to actually purchase food, we had no choice but to scavenge it ourselves."
"...Makes sense," Cheren decided to accept that answer. "Then maybe you know."
"...Know what?" Nate asked.
Cheren's expression became grim, as he narrowed his eyes at Nate.
"...The whereabouts of your brother and foster sister..." Cheren said.
"What?" Nate asked flatly.
"Hilbert and Hilda both disappeared a year ago," Cheren said. "We lost contact to them ever since. We don't know where they went. Perhaps you know where they went. Or a reason that required them to disappear from Unova. From us."
The two leered at each other, unwaveringly testing to see who would slip up first.
"...Hell if I knew where Hilbert went," Nate said. "The last time I saw him was two years ago after he woke up from the fight against Ghetsis. And knowing Hilda and her obsession for 'Big Bro', wherever Hilbert goes, Hilda will follow no matter what. You're asking the wrong guy, 'Cowlick'. I wouldn't know where they went. Although I would like to know where the hell they ran off to."
"And why is that?" Cheren asked.
"That's my business, and mine alone," Nate spat.
As the two began to glare daggers at one another, the students behind their beloved teacher began to look curious, confused, and above all intimidated. The expression their benevolent and kind-hearted teacher was giving to the boy was something akin to a man looking down upon another man with arrogance, scorn, and disgust. They never saw this kind of side from him.
"...Wait...'Hilbert'...?" Rosa murmured.
"? What's wrong?" Hugh asked.
No, it couldn't be. The boy couldn't possibly be referring to...but then again, so was Professor Cheren, and there was only one 'Hilbert' her soon-to-be former professor could possibly refer to.
"Hey," Rosa called out to Nate, stepping out of the crowd. "By 'Hilbert'...you couldn't possibly mean 'Hilbert Warren', do you?"
Nate gave Rosa an incredulous look, before replying.
"Yeah, that's the one. So what of it?" Nate asked.
"Wha–?!" Rosa gasped, genuinely surprised. "What possible connection could you and Hilbert Warren possibly have?"
"Rosa...well since there's no going around this, all of you might as well hear this," Cheren sighed. "This boy is 'Nate Warren'. He is the legitimate younger brother of Hilbert Warren."
The crowd of students gasped as all eyes turned to the boy in question, who had a rather bored look on his face.
"Wha...?! N-No! That can't be!" Rosa gaped. "You can't possibly be related to a hero like Hilbert Warren! I mean...!"
"Oh?" Nate asked, an eyebrow arching in curiosity. "It looks like my big bro got himself a few fans. I guess being a national hero would do that...listen girl. Facts are facts. Whether you like it or not, I'm his little brother."
"But...no one ever mentioned anything about him having a younger brother!" Rosa argued. "Especially a low life pervert like you who resorts to stealing food from facilities..."
"Oh we're really going down that route, eh?" Nate snickered. "Look, girl. The world's not nice. While you might've been pampered all of your life with crap like 'hospitality' or a 'roof under your head' and etcetera, I had none of that. I have to work for my food. I have to scavenge to survive. Of course you wouldn't ever be able to understand something like that, princess. And I told you that was an accident! Frankly who the hell do you think you are anyways?"
"My name is not 'princess'," Rosa growled. "I am Rosa Echoes. Future champion of Unova."
Nate's eyes widened slightly, before the boy began to break down into a howling laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god that is hilarious!" Nate cackled.
"Wha–?!" Rosa gasped in furious shock and embarrassment.
"Cowlick, is this chick your student?" Nate asked between laughs. "She is hilarious! Oh that arrogance of hers is something to behold."
"I am not arrogant!" Rosa yelled.
"Oh please," Nate exclaimed. "Already declaring yourself the 'future champion of Unova', when all you have is a stupid eevee. How is that not arrogant?"
"-Hey I am not stupid!-" Eve growled. "-And Rosa is not arrogant!-"
"You even think like her," Nate snickered at Eve. "Newsflash fox. She's pretty full of herself if she thinks she's guaranteed to become the next champion."
"You can understand Eve?" Hugh asked in genuine shock.
"Impossible!" Rosa argued.
"It's true," Cheren said. "Like Hilbert, Nate can understand Pokémon. Nay, even better than Hilbert can."
"I refuse to believe such lies!" Rosa yelled.
"Why? Is it because some 'low life' like me is tarnishing your precious hero's image?" Nate taunted. "Girl. Your hero isn't as perfect as you believe he is. Just letting you know there."
"That is enough," Cheren said before Nate could provoke Rosa any further. "I will not tolerate you besmirching my students any longer."
"Whatever," Nate simply scoffed.
Cheren glared at Nate, before an idea came into his mind.
"Then perhaps, how about we have a wager?" Cheren offered.
That genuinely peaked Nate's attention.
"What kind of wager?" Nate asked.
"As a gym leader, it is my duty to accept challenger's requests for a gym battle for the gym's badge," Cheren began. "If you were to challenge me as a 'challenger', then I would have no choice but to comply."
"I'm listening," Nate said.
"How about you and I battle?" Cheren offered. "One on One. If I win, then you're coming with me. If you win, then you can go scot-free."
"Are you serious, Professor?!" Rosa gasped. "Why don't we just call the police on him right–!?"
"Deal," Nate grinned. "Never thought you would actually fish out for a fight with me. Remember the last time we had a scuffle back at Castelia?"
"The past is the past. The present is the present," Cheren said. "And to accommodate with your current level, I'll impose the 'Challenge Mode.'"
"'Challenge Mode?" Rosa asked.
"It's an option that gym leaders offer for trainers with more experience that was imposed by the new champion," Hugh explained to her. "Each gym leader have a separate team that they can use from based on the challenger's experience. The gym leader is usually required to use a preset team that the league approves for all challengers regardless of experience, but for more experienced challengers, the gym leaders can use their own team; unrestricted by the league except for the assigned type the gym is representing."
"So when we challenged Professor Cheren..." Rosa asked.
"We were simply fighting him at a standard difficulty," Hugh finished.
Nate grinned maliciously.
"That sounds interesting," Nate said. "Alright, deal. You'll need that 'Challenge Mode' or whatever, if you want to stand a chance against me with the league keeping you under a leash."
"Alas, you are right," Cheren sighed. "With the Unova League's restrictions on my team, I have to use a different team. Yes, with this, I can use my usual partners in battle."
"'Usual partners'...?" Rosa asked. "Does that mean...?"
"I dunno what he used against you two," Nate said, referring to both Rosa and Hugh. "But it's obvious he had to hold back against you two. Let me guess. First badge?"
The two nodded hesitantly.
"Yep, there was no way he could've used his party from his journey against a couple of novices," Nate chastised.
"Wha–Novices?!" Rosa growled in annoyance.
"Yep, 'novices'," Nate simply smiled as Luca finally got the rope ripped, and tore it in half, freeing herself and her master. "Unlike Luca and I."
Rosa tried to make a rebuttal, but the pressure that Luca gave off as she stepped up in front of her master denied any attempts at it. Infuriating he might be, the boy was not lying. Even she could understand that the lucario in his possession was something she nor Hugh could not currently step up to. It would annihilate them.
"So? What're you waiting for, Cowlick?" Nate faced Cheren. "You ready to fight or what?"
Cheren simply adjusted his tie as he walked over to his desk and opened a drawer revealing six pokéballs.
"Try to wait until we get outside," Cheren sighed as he picked up a pokéball. "Let us head to the battle field. You all may come to watch as well."
As Nate, Luca and Cheren headed out to the battle field, the students began to follow their teacher, curious to see this gym battle under the 'Challenge Mode'. Rosa squeezed Eve in her arms a little too tightly, as she trotted after them, infuriated by the cockiness of the boy and how he humiliated him, and wishing to see her professor wipe the smirk off of his face. As Hugh followed his enraged friend, he noticed that the oshawott, while intimidated by her, nonetheless followed her. Hugh then noticed that Snivy was content with resting in his arms, while Tepig was rushing ahead, trying to get past the barricade of students.
"...This is interesting, to say the least," Hugh said.
Soon enough, they were at the battle field. A standardly designed one, made out in chalk that spread out wide, making a huge rectangular border that took up the majority of the field of dirt and sand. Nate stood towards the challenger's side, while Cheren took his place on a podium where the gym leader's side is positioned at, with all of his students standing at the sidelines.
"Like what I said before," Cheren said. "A one on one single battle. Whoever's Pokémon faints first will be declared the loser."
"Simple enough," Nate said. "Luca!"
At his signal, Luca jumped over her master and landed in front of him, on her side of the battle field, putting up a fighting stance, ready for whatever opponent she must face.
"So? What're you gonna lead with? Perhaps that serperior of yours?" Nate asked.
"My gym's representing type is 'Normal'," Cheren said as he lifted his pokéball. "Even in 'Challenge Mode', I must abide to that type."
With that being said, Cheren unleashed his Pokémon. It represented a gamebird; primarily dark gray with lighter gray markings. The light gray markings consist of a heart-shaped patch covering its face and throat, two patches divided by a lacy line on its wings, and intricate stripes with dark rimming on its tail feather. The bird had a reddish pink, wattle around its eyes with long, ribbon-like growths from the wattle extend over its head and down past its shoulders.
"Unfezant, the proud Pokémon!" Cheren declared. "One of my trusted partners that aided my endeavors during my journey!"
"Right...this thing is a Normal/Flying-type," Nate muttered.
The students were shocked and impressed by the powerful and regal-looking bird, unaware that their professor owned such a bird.
"Incredible..." Rosa gaped at the sight of it.
Luca simply leered at her opponent, unwavering and not letting go of her stance. Unfezant glanced at Luca, before sporting a genuinely surprised look. He recognized this Pokémon, and just how deadly she was ever since two years ago. He spread out his wings before slowly ascending to the air, ready to fend off against his adversary.
"This looks promising," Nate grinned. "Come at me, Cheren!"
"I won't hold back, Nate Warren!" Cheren yelled.
Responding to their trainer's cries, Luca and Unfezant charged at each other, colliding with one another into a stalemate.
To be continued
AN: This looks like a good place to end it off. And thus concludes the first chapter of Pride of Your Soul, where next time it's Nate vs Cheren!
Anyways, if you like it, great for you. Make sure to favorite and follow to stay up-to-date when a new chapter gets published. If not, well sorry for wasting your time and thanks for wasting your time on this. And again, reviews, critiques and advice on how I can make this story better are welcome, so make sure you do that.
Oh and one more thing: with this, the poll on my profile (for those of you who knew/cared) will come to a close once this gets published and I get some sleep. It's like what, 1 AM or something where I am right now? I'll close down the poll and announce the winner afterwards, so stay tuned to that.
EDIT: Poll's over, and it looks like XY is next. Normally it would be a good idea to write that after this story is over, but instead I plan to write it alongside with this story. Stay tuned for that.
Alright, I got nothing else to say, so I'll see ya next time!